Mansfield Prepares Flood Mitigation Plan

Two so-called 100-year floods ten days apart last year has Mansfield city officials coming-up with an ambitious flood mitigation plan for the Sixth Street area of the city. The proposal is to build water-retention basins on Bowman Street, and in the Triangle area between the railroad tracks and bike trail, east of the Mid-Ohio Conference Center. A dam downstream of North Lake Park in Touby's Run would also be installed. This would cost $23-million. The other option is to spend at least $41-million to purchase and demolish six- hundred residential and business properties and let that open area continue to flood. Mayor Tim Theaker says the next step is to find the $23- million, whether it comes from federal and state grants, or possibly local taxpayers. With that long and difficult process ahead, there is no timeline for solving Mansfield's flood problem.